Tropical Storm Danielle is forecast to make landfall on the coast of Mexico tonight or early Tuesday morning. (Credit: NOAA)

Tropical Storm Danielle formed this morning in the Gulf of Mexico, setting a new record for the earliest fourth tropical cyclone in the Atlantic. The storm beat 2012’s Tropical Storm Debby by three days.

To find the fifth- through 11th-earliest storms you have to go back to the infamous year of 2005. Hurricane Emily spun up as a tropical storm on July 11, 2005 and went on to become the earliest Category 5 storm on record with 160 mph winds.

July, which is normally a relatively quiet month in the tropics, went to have two other storms in 2005 — Tropical Storm Franklin and Tropical Storm Gert. Five storms formed in August of that year, including Hurricane Katrina.

There was much less drama in 2012, despite the early start with Debby. There was no tropical development at all in July — the next storm was Hurricane Ernesto, which spun up on Aug. 1.

Overall, however, the Atlantic hurricane season in 2012 was very busy, with 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

Danielle had strengthened slightly at 11 a.m. EDT with winds of 45 mph. The main threat to Mexico was rain — up to 15 is possible in higher terrain over the states of Veracruz, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, Queretaro, Hidalgo, and northern Puebla, according to the National Hurricane Center. Biggest concerns are life-threatening flash floods and mud slides.

It’s interesting to note that two of the most closely watched forecast models — NOAA’s GFS and the European (ECMWF) — suggest that another tropical system could form in the Gulf of Mexico toward the end of next week.

The next name on the Atlantic storm list this year is Earl.

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LOCAL RAINFALL REPORT: Palm Beach International Airport picked up 0.12 of an inch of rain on Sunday, bringing the monthly total to 3.51 inches — still 1.79 inches below normal. Palm Beach measured 0.07 of an inch.

Dry conditions are in the forecast through Tuesday, but by Wednesday rain chances increase to 40 percent in Palm Beach.

There is a high risk of rip currents at area beaches due to brisk easterly winds.